Buddhist Geeks

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche—a dynamic and engaging Gen X Tibetan Lama who has spent half of his life living in the West—joins us to explore several key points related to the development of a more contemporary Buddhism. We explore some ideas from his newest book, Rebel Buddha, including the idea that there is an essential aspect to Dharma that goes beyond culture, the ways that teachings on emptiness are often confused or misunderstood, and the nature of enlightenment and the possibility of awakening in the here and now. Episode Links: Rebel Buddha ( http://www.rebelbuddha.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel to explore some of the topics from her most recent book, The Power of an Open Question. Elizabeth speaks about the nature of questioning, and why questioning is one of the best ways to come in accordance with the way things are. She also explores the qualities of faith & doubt, how questioning fits in with both, and how skepticism and openness are related. We finish the discussion off by looking at how the quality of “not knowing,” that often gets developed through sincere questioning, might manifest in our human relationships. If you’re looking for answers, this may not be the episode for you! Episode Links: The Power of an Open Question ( http://amzn.to/cbeXst ) Madyamika Prasangika ( http://bit.ly/1CQJ4Ti )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

Author, teacher, and Tibetologist Glenn Mullin discusses the teachings of The Six Yogas of Naropa, including sexual yoga, dream yoga, and bardo yoga. He explains why these practices are a perfect complement for the modern lifestyle and reflects on the displacement of spiritual masters due to China's invasion of Tibet. Mullin explores the philosophy and transformative power of the Six Yogas, emphasizing their ease of application and combination of physical and mental practices. He presents dream yoga and bardo yoga as the lazy man's enlightenment, suitable for the challenges of the modern world.

Insight meditation teacher James Baraz joins us to explore the many facets of joy, happiness, and well-being. We begin by finding out how joy became an important part of James’ practice, since in his early years with Buddhism he was, in his own words, “dead serious about practice.” It turns out that part of what helped him break the spell was the Advaita Vedanta teacher, H.W.L Poonja, as well as the teachings that the Buddha himself gave on joy and well-being. We also look at the positive psychology movement, which James pulls from often in his teachings on Joy, comparing and contrasting positive psychology with Buddhist psychology. And finally we discuss what it means to cultivate Joy, and how that cultivation relates to a recognition of Natural Joy (the joy that’s present without any special effort). Episode Links: www.JamesBaraz.com Awakening Joy: 10 Steps That Will Put You on the Road to Real Happiness ( http://amzn.to/bnPnPR ) Authentic Happiness ( http://amzn.to/9DIPlr ) H.W.L Poonja ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._W._L._Poonja ) Nibanna for Everyone, by Ajahn Buddhadassa ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/265212/Nibbana-for-Everyone ) Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Sorts of Thinking (Majjhima Nikaya 19) ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.019.than.html ) Transcendental Dependent Arising ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel277.html )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

Bodhipaksa is a teacher from the Triratna Buddhist Community, formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. He joins us this week to explore the Buddhist teachings on impermanence and “change blindness.” We also explore one of the central practices that he teaches, called the 6-elements practice—one of the primary methods found in the earliest strata of Buddhist teachings. Finally, we explore the importance of enlightenment in his teaching, what is traditionally called stream-entry, but which he refers to as “entry-level enlightenment.” Episode Links: www.bodhipaksa.com Living As a River: Finding Fearlessness in the Face of Change ( http://amzn.to/aMZqzN ) Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Properties ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.140.than.html )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

We speak with Lama Surya Das this week about what it takes to integrate spiritual understanding into our lives as 21st century citizens. He explores the question of whether our sense of time has sped up in the “over-information age,” and how we can change our relationship to time. He also shares the outlines of what he calls the Six Building Blocks of a Spiritual Life—a post-traditional model aimed at integrating the inner and outer dimensions of life. We conclude our discussion by looking at what he calls, “Positive Buddhism.” Positive Buddhism is a formulation of the Buddhist teachings that emphasize some of the more life-affirming aspects of the awakened life, instead of some of the more life-denying aspects, such as suffering, renunciation, and non-attachment. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Tao of Twitter. Episode Links: www.Surya.org The Mind is Mightier Than the Sword ( http://amzn.to/cmIOru ) Positive Psychology ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology ) Awakening the Buddha Within ( http://amzn.to/9HeJJ0 )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

When it comes to leveraging the technologies of our time, Lama Surya Das is one of the most active American Buddhists around. He blogs, tweets, skypes, hosts webinars, and participates in virtual retreats. And yet he acknowledges that if it were completely up to him, he’d be leading meditation retreats in-person and writing books. We speak with Surya Das on why he has decided to engage these technologies, as opposed to treating them merely as distractions or as “necessary evils,” as so many teachers do. We explore both the upsides and downsides of what he refers to as, “beaming, streaming media.” As he points out during the interview, he feels he has two feet firmly planted in the old tradition, and two feet firmly planted in the new. What happens when someone is immersed in both? This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Living in Buddha Standard Time. Episode Links: @LamaSuryaDas ( www.twitter.com/LamaSuryaDas ) www.Surya.org The Tao of Twitter: The Spirit in the Machine ( http://bit.ly/9wtD4c ) Dzogchen Center ( http://dzogchen.org )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

We’re joined this week by Flamenco guitarist and Zen practitioner Ottmar Liebert. Ottmar shares the story of how he broke with his childhood religion of Catholicism, started doing Transcendental Meditation, and then found his spiritual home in the Zen tradition. We also discuss the nature of practice, and compare how it manifests in both music and meditation. We also explore the distinction between solitary practice and performance, seeing what parallels to music we might find in Zen. Episode Links: www.OttmarLiebert.com Petals on the Path ( http://www.ottmarliebert.com/music/album/petals-on-the-path ) Letter to a Young Musician #1 ( http://www.ottmarliebert.com/diary/?p=6374 )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

“You need not make efforts to create non-conceptuality. You need not regard thoughts as a fault. And so that your practice does not succumb to famine, from the beginning have a bountiful crop. Not searching for a state that is calmly resting, vividly clear, and filled with bliss, bring into your experience whatever arises without taking it up or discarding it.” – Orgyenpa We’re joined again this week by one of our favorite Buddhist Geeks, Robert Spellman. In our discussion with him, we delve into the often tenuous relationship that meditators have to their own thoughts. Robert shares a profound teaching from a 13th century Tibetan teacher, Orgyenpa, on how to relate to the thinking mind. He also talks about the difficulty in getting personally identified with insights, and explores what is meant by “non-meditation.” For those meditators out there who are interested in having a more empowering and healthy relationship to their own minds, this promises to be a very interesting interview. Episode Links: www.RobertSpellman.com Orgyenpa ( http://www.kagyuoffice.org/kagyulineage.karmapa2.html#Orgyenpa )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

We’re joined again by meditation teacher Jason Siff to conclude our exploration of the fundamental ideas and practices behind his unique approach of Unlearning Meditation, or what he calls Recollective Awareness. We begin with exploring what recollection, or mindfulness, is and how it can be harnessed through a practice of meditative journaling. Jason continues his deconstruction of the type of prescribed practices which suggest doing something “all of the time” and suggests instead that we find out for ourself what meditation is about and where it is leading. We wrap up the discussion by exploring a different way of developing samadhi, a method that Jason describes as “drifting off in meditation.” This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Unlearning Meditation. Episode Links: Skillful Meditation Project ( http://www.skillfulmeditation.org ) Unlearning Meditation: What to Do When the Instructions Get In the Way ( http://amzn.to/c0iBUm ) A Mindful Balance ( http://www.alanwallace.org/spr08wallace_comp.pdf )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe